INTERCULTURAL VISION IN THE POETRY OF SHEIKH JASSIM BIN MOHAMMED AL THANI: BRIDGING NATIONAL VALUES AND INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE

Abstract

In Arab tradition, poetry has long served as a medium for political discourse, moral instruction, and cultural preservation (Sowayan, 1992). This research explores the cultural values that the poetry of Qatar’s founder, Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani has stressed. The study, drawing upon Deardorff’s (2009) conceptualization of intercultural competence, identifies three key intercultural competencies that Sheikh Jassim’s poetry emphasized as Qatari genuine attributes: Al-Zaban, Al-Karam and Al-Shafa’ah . Then, the study traces how the values of Zabn-granting asylum, Karam-hospitality, and Shafa’ah-mediation have evolved and manifested in modern Qatar’s cultural diplomacy and foreign policy initiatives. This study also explores the human universal aspects within these Qatari specific values that transcend national and ethnic boundaries (Zaharna, 2019). To what extent can these values qualify as intercultural competencies that facilitate humanity-centered cultural diplomacy? By exploring the intercultural aspects embedded within these cultural values, the study highlights their qualities as universal intercultural competencies that support humanity-centered cultural diplomacy (Zaharna, 2019), which have the potential to bolster the country’s vision and guide its diplomacy. This connection between past and present is particularly relevant as Qatar holding more to the founder’s vision continues to be resilient and less vulnerable to the drastic and erosive change brought about by today’s sweeping globalization (Abdul-Jabbar, 2025). Therefore, it is crucial to study the founder’s verses as they transcend his personal experience to inform the cultural heritage of the state and its global diplomatic activism.

Date of Award	2026
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	HBKU College of Humanities and Social Science